Late blight damages tomatoes

Halladay’s Mortgage Lifter tomatoes were developed in the Depression era 1930s and earned its “Mortgage Lifter” nickname after the plant breeder was able to pay off his mortgage. AP In this undated photo provided by Seed Savers Exchange, Halladay's Mortgage Lifter tomatoes are shown here. This tomato was developed in the Depression Era 1930s and earned its "Mortgage Lifter'' nickname after the amateur plant breeder was able to pay off his house mortgage from the sale of the plants. (AP Photo/Seed Savers Exchange)(Photo: AP)

John and Lydia Speller were at the Vantage Point farmers market on Saturday morning.

"We love to come to the farmers market and get Michigan tomatoes," said Lydia Speller, who is the priest in charge at Grace Episcopal Church in Port Huron.

"We don't have a garden right now, so we have patio tomatoes."

Their dog, Jackson, was along for the outing.

"He does not eat tomatoes," Speller said.

A contagious disease affecting tomatoes and potatoes could increase the price of one of summer's most prized veggies.

"We have a late blight that is occurring on potatoes and tomatoes," said Hal Hudson, extension horticulture and vegetable production educator at the extension's Agriculture and Agribusiness Institute in Caro.

Late blight is a disease destructive to plants, according to USAblight.org, a national project on tomato and potato late blight in the country funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The disease is highly contagious among plants, spread when spores from the pathogen are dispersed by wind.

The website reports confirmed cases of late blight in Allegan, Clinton, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Macomb, Montcalm and St. Joseph counties, but Hudson said it is a statewide issue.

He said the offices have received an increase in calls from many home gardeners.

The disease affects the foliage of the tomatoes and potatoes and produces round, brown blotches until it encompasses the entire tomato or potato.

"From a food safety standpoint, the tomatoes are not to be used for canning, and it's not recommended to use for fresh use either," Hudson said. "As people are looking at farmers markets to purchase tomatoes for canning or table use, they want nice, clean, disease-free tomatoes."

Scott Hartwig, of Goodells, had gorgeous red tomatoes for sale Saturday at Vantage Point — but that's not always been the case.

"I had (late blight) a few years ago," he said. "I haven't gotten it recently, but about four or five years ago I got hit pretty badly.

"You have to keep moving your crop," he said. "You can't have it in the same place two years in a row."

Hudson said anyone with an infected plant should dig it up, put it in a plastic bag and dispose of it to prevent the disease from spreading.

People whose plants have not been infected can spray fungicides on the plants such as Daconil or Fungonil, Hudson said. Spray the foliage and entire plant.

He said it's safe to pick, wash and use once the spray has dried.

"The fungicide doesn't stop the disease," Hudson said. "It slows it down and puts a protective covering on the plants and fruits."

This summer's weather has provided the perfect conditions for the disease to develop and spread, he said.

"It's been cool, and previously it's been wet," he said.

Typically the disease begins in potatoes and spreads, Hudson said. Potatoes and tomatoes are in the same family, which makes it easy to spread to the tomatoes.

Late Blight was responsible for the Irish Potato Famine in 1845, according to USABlight.org.

Although it's not expected to be that drastic, Hudson said the disease could affect tomato prices.

"This is the time of year that people are going to purchase tomatoes for canning purposes, so it may be more difficult to find a half bushel, bushel or peck of canning tomatoes," he said.

Contact Crystal Garcia at (810) 989-6276 or cagarcia@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @THCrystalGarcia.